After the outings of Boston Bruins players and Gary Bettman questioning the decision to offer Mitchell Miller a contract, the player’s agent came to the defense of his client.
Posted at 8:15 p.m.
Eustace King indeed published a long tweet, Sunday morning, in which he explains in detail why he agreed to represent Miller, who was found guilty, in 2016, at the age of 14, in a history of bullying. and racism towards a developmentally retarded young black man.
King, one of the very few African-American agents in the NHL, claims to understand “the seriousness of the situation” and “the strong emotions aroused by the disclosure of Mr. Miller’s past actions”.
King then lists the initiatives taken by his client to redeem himself, naming a dozen organizations or causes in which he has become involved or committed to doing so.
“After considering all of these factors, we decided to take Professor Loretta Ross’s approach [NDLR : du Smith College, au Massachusetts] and that it is better to advise than to banish (counsel, not cancel) in order to journey toward healing,” King writes.
What form of involvement?
However, the questions soon followed. In the press release, Eustace King cites the Carnegie Initiative as one of the organizations he and Mitchell Miller have “committed to working with” and “met.”
However, at the start of the evening on Sunday, the Carnegie Initiative distanced itself from these remarks.
“We have been approached to work with Mitchell,” read the statement, emailed to The Press in response to an interview request, and posted on Twitter.
“This is one of the many requests we receive to help make hockey more inclusive. To be clear, we did not work with Mitchell Miller. That said, we encourage everyone involved to have direct and difficult conversations in order to find a positive path of healing for the future. »
Chanté Eastmond, director of administration for Hockey Equality, told The Press that Miller had not worked directly with his organization, but that the player’s agency “especially wanted guidelines in order to establish a plan”, she explains on the phone.
She wanted to defend the young man and his approach.
“To say that it was only done because the court ordered it and the NHL wanted him to do it seems unfair to me,” she said on the phone. Honestly, a young person doesn’t really know what to do in such a situation, and that’s why they need direction.
“The young person undergoes a process of rehabilitation. Let’s try that, instead of advocating the culture of banishment. His agency tries to help him, and we support the idea of guiding a person to become better. »
Hockey Equality is an organization with a mission to “create diversity at all levels of hockey” and advocates “re-education in the minor hockey community”. Its board of directors is made up of several members from various cultural communities and its director is Anthony Stewart, a former NHL player who was a client of Eustace King.
“It sucks that a young person is judged for the rest of his life for something he did at 14, recalls Mme Eastmond. I have four children and I wouldn’t want that to happen to them. That’s why we have a different legal system for minors. »
The Press also attempted to contact Bill Himmel, coordinator of the Toledo chapter — Mitchell Miller’s home region — of the Gliding Stars organization, who King quotes in the statement. Mr. Himmel answered our call in the middle of the day, asking us to call him back 30 minutes later. He then did not respond to our call back or a text message.
Eustace King, Miller’s agent, also did not return the call or text message from The Press.
The mother of the victim denounces the situation
Recall that Miller was drafted, then released, by the Arizona Coyotes in 2020 after his conviction surfaced. He continued his career in the USHL, an American junior circuit, and signed a contract with the Bruins on Friday as a free agent.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman later said Miller was “ineligible” to play on the tour. For the time being, Miller must therefore report to the Providence Bruins, Boston’s school club in the American League (AHL). But there too, its status is nebulous. Sportsnet reporter Jeff Marek reported Sunday that AHL commissioner Scott Howson plans to meet with Miller this week.
For her part, the mother of Miller’s victim, Joni Meyers-Croters, told The Athletic that she was “totally taken aback” by the news. “I never thought an NHL team would offer him a contract,” he said.
“We want Mitchell to get all the help he needs because he needs help too,” the mother continued. We are not against that at all. But playing hockey is a privilege. Maybe he should have been re-evaluated for hockey only after he was actually rehabilitated and after he understood the extent of what he did to our son. »